Packaging system

ABSTRACT

The packaging system includes a thin, flexible bag that is generally small in size and a pre-cut portion of dental floss which is disposed within the bag. The bag has a front wall and a rear wall, sealed together at opposite longitudinal side seams and at a closed lower end. A mouth is formed by the front and rear walls, between the side seams. A slidable sealer is affixed to an upper end of the bag to facilitate repeatable opening and closing of the mouth. The upper end of the bag further includes an aperture defined therein to facilitate display of the packaging system on a wire dispenser.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to packaging for dental floss, and moreparticularly, individualized packets containing a pre-selected length ofdental floss.

2. Description of the Related Art

Dental floss has commonly been manufactured and distributed as a spool,housed in a plastic dispensing container. The user withdraws a length ofthread from the container and then severs the length of thread from thespool. An individual who seeks to employ flossing as a hygienic dentalpractice, commonly carries such a container on her person so that it canbe easily accessed throughout the day. However, although such containersmay be relatively compact, they nonetheless present undesirable bulk ina person's pockets.

Some attempts have been made in the past to provide smaller packagingfor dental floss and smaller lengths of dental floss in each package.When the amount of dental floss in each package is adequate only for asingle use, the associated packaging can also be smaller and moreconvenient to carry about one's person. Such packaging, however, hastypically included small, flat packets, which must be torn in order toaccess the dental floss. Consequently, one is left not only with useddental floss after flossing, but also torn packet pieces. In someinstances, such as when one is in a car, it becomes difficult toappropriately and discretely manage the dental floss and packagingremains. Consequently, a compact packaging device for dental floss whichmay be used not only for storing dental floss before use but also forretaining used dental floss until it can be properly discarded isdesirable.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,221, issued Apr. 1, 1986 to A. P. Corella disclosesa peripherally sealed package containing a bunched up portion of dentalfloss or other filament with the outer ends of the floss or filamentbeing disposed within and secured by sealed ends of the package. A notchwhose cut enables the package to be opened, uses a segment of thepackage as a handle to draw the filament untangled and unknotted fromthe package.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,572, issued Dec. 15, 1987 to W. G. Hovel discloses adental floss packet consisting of a first water resistant sheet ofmaterial, a length of dental floss having one end thereof secured to aportion of a left periphery of the material and having another endthereof secured to a portion of a right periphery thereof, a secondwater resistant sheet of material, a die stamped seal extending entirelyalong the periphery between the sheets of the material and enclosing thedental floss therewithin.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,728, issued Aug. 1, 1989 to J. R. Court discloses adisposable single use package comprised of a short length of dentalfloss integrated in a sanitary packet. The packet is formed by first andsecond members releasably attached to one another to form a sanitaryinterior compartment for accommodating the length of dental floss.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,289, issued Jan. 22, 1991 to C. E. McWhorterdiscloses a dental hygiene product in the form of a packet having afront panel and a back panel containing a pre-cut length of dental flossthread stored as a coil. The packet is severable into first and secondpacket portions, and opposite ends of the thread are affixed torespective packet portions which, after being severed, form grip tabs tofacilitate withdrawal and use of the floss thread.

Other patents relating to dental floss packaging include U.S. Pat. No.4,014,433, issued Mar. 29, 1977 to R. J. Cerwin (package for moisturesensitive sutures and method for making same); U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,330,issued Jul. 8, 1980 to A. E. Strock (oral health and hygiene kit); U.S.Pat. No. 4,836,227, issued Jun. 6, 1989 to N. Charatan (oral hygienedevice); U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,324, issued Jun. 18, 1991 to D. Whittaker(single use dental floss spindle and method); U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,077,issued Jun. 21, 1994 to A. P. Corella (dental hygiene apparatus); U.S.Pat. No. 5,549,201, issued Aug. 27, 1996 to L. S. Bruade (package fordental floss); U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,776, issued Aug. 18, 1998 to A. P.Corella (instrumentation, system, method, and package for packagingflaccid filaments); U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,418, issued Jun. 22, 1999 to P.Singh (packaged dental floss with manual pressure dispensing); U.S. Pat.No. 6,102,051, issued Aug. 15, 2000 to P. S. Neves (flossing kit); andInternational Patent No. WO 98/52492, published Nov. 26, 1998.

None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or incombination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thusa packaging system solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The packaging system includes a thin, flexible bag that is generallysmall in size, and a pre-cut portion of dental floss disposed within thebag. The bag has a front wall and a rear wall, sealed together atopposite longitudinal side seams and at a closed lower end. A mouth isformed by the front and rear walls, between the side seams. A slidablesealer is affixed to an upper end of the bag to facilitate repeatableopening and closing of the mouth. The upper end of the bag furtherincludes an aperture defined therein to facilitate display of thepackaging system on a wire dispenser.

The packaging system of the present invention is particularly adaptedfor individual sale, as the hole at the upper end of the bag allows fordisplay of the packaging system on a wire dispenser. Because of itssmall size, the packaging system may also be readily carried in wallets,billfolds, and the like. Additionally, the packaging system may be usedas a replacement for complimentary toothpicks provided at restaurants.Since the integrity of the bag is not destroyed once the dental floss isremoved, the used dental floss may be placed in the bag and sealedtherein until the packaging system may be conveniently disposed.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide apackaging system wherein select lengths of dental floss can be stored ina useful and sanitary manner.

It is another object of the invention to provide a packaging system thateliminates the bulk of a conventional dental floss container so thatdental floss may be easily carried on one's person.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a packaging system inthe form of a bag, which can be repeatedly opened and closed for storingused and unused portions of dental floss.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a packaging systemindividually sold and distributed on wire dispensers.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements andarrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive,dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

These and other objects of the present invention will become readilyapparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a packaging systemaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a packaging system according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a packaging system according to thepresent invention drawn along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistentlythroughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention relates to a packaging system, generallydesignated as 10 in the drawings. As depicted in FIG. 1, the packagingsystem 10 includes a thin, flexible bag 12 and a pre-cut portion ofdental floss 14 disposed within the bag 12. The bag 12 is relativelysmall in size, preferably having a width of about 1.5 inches and alength of about 2.0 inches. The bag 12 can be formed from a flexiblematerial, such as paper or plastic. The dental floss 16 is preferably ofa length which is determined to be sufficient for only one use.

As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 2, the bag 12 has a front wall 12 aand a rear wall 12 b. Each of the front and rear walls 12 a and 12 b arefixedly attached together at opposite longitudinally extending sideseams 14 and at a closed lower end 16. A top end 15 of the bag 12includes an aperture 20 for facilitating display of the packaging system10 on a wire dispenser, and a slidable sealer 22 for releasably sealingthe bag 12. The slidable sealer is preferably a ziplock sealer commonlyfound in Ziploc® bags. When the bag 12 is unsealed, a mouth 18 is formedby the front and rear walls, 12 a and 12 b, between the side seams 14.

Referring to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the sealer 22 includes a tongueelement 22 a on the front wall 12 a and a groove element 22 b on therear wall 12 b, with both elements 22 a and 22 b being flexible so thetongue element 22 a can slidably engage the groove element 22 b in a“zip-locking” type fashion.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theembodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodimentswithin the scope of the following claims.

1. A packaging system, comprising: a flexible bag, said bag including afront wall and a rear wall, said front wall and said rear wall beingfixedly attached together at opposing side edges to definelongitudinally extending side seams and at a bottom edge to define aclosed lower end, a mouth formed by said front and rear walls betweensaid side seams; a slidable sealer affixed to a top end of said bag forreleasably sealing said mouth, said sealer comprising a tongue elementand a groove element, said tongue element being disposed on said frontwall and said groove element being disposed on said rear wall, saidtongue element being adapted for slidably engaging said groove element;an aperture defined through said front and rear walls proximate an upperend of said bag; and a pre-cut portion of dental floss disposed withinsaid bag.
 2. The packaging system of claim 1, wherein said bag has awidth of about 1.5 inches and a length of about 2.0 inches.
 3. Thepackaging system of claim 1, wherein said bag is manufactured frompaper.
 4. The packaging system of claim 1, wherein said bag ismanufactured from plastic.